10 Ways to Break Into a House

Astute burglars look for surveillance devices. These thieves may feel ever-so-clever when spotting, then disabling, your above-door camera before it enables identification.

Lack of sophistication can come back to haunt cocky burglars who assume surveillance is like the days of yore: Recorded images on film are viewed later in some operation control room. Not so, and surveillance is one technology that gives home owners an advantage.

New Internet-enabled webcams provide not only recording of activities, but real-time monitoring. And they do so using small, easily-hidden devices, which means four, five or six webcams can be positioned to give different views of the same area. Dummy cameras disabled by burglars have no bearing on the live webcams still humming away. Internet-based surveillance gives owners an immediate view of what is happening outside and inside their homes. Compared to alarm systems, webcams are the next-best thing to catching a burglar red-handed. Help is a quick 911 call away.

Caught on Camera

In mid-2009, Jeanne Thomas was at work and decided to check the webcam in her home. Unfortunately, as CNN reported, she saw intruders in her home and called the police. Thomas watched as the would-be thieves went from room to room and was able to tell the dispatcher their location. The two burglars were arrested.